Editing Ion thruster (section)

=== Operational missions ===
Ion thrusters are routinely used for station-keeping on commercial and military communication satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The Soviet Union pioneered this field, using [[Hall-effect thruster|stationary plasma thrusters]] (SPTs) on satellites starting in the early 1970s.

Two geostationary satellites (ESA's [[Artemis (satellite)|Artemis]] in 2001–2003<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.esa.int/esaTE/SEM1LT0P4HD_index_0.html|title=Artemis team receives award for space rescue |access-date=2006-11-16|publisher=ESA}}</ref> and the United States military's [[AEHF-1]] in 2010–2012<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2012/January%202012/0112space.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109095137/http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2012/January%202012/0112space.aspx|url-status=usurped|archive-date=9 January 2012|title=Rescue in Space}}</ref>) used the ion thruster to change orbit after the chemical-propellant engine failed. [[Boeing]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1203/19boeing702sp/|title=Electric propulsion could launch new commercial trend|publisher=Spaceflight Now}}</ref> began using ion thrusters for station-keeping in 1997 and planned in 2013–2014 to offer a variant on their 702 platform, with no chemical engine and ion thrusters for orbit raising; this permits a significantly lower launch mass for a given satellite capability. [[AEHF-2]] used a chemical engine to raise perigee to {{cvt|16330|km}} and proceeded to [[geosynchronous orbit]] using electric propulsion.<ref name=aehf2-sfn>{{cite web |url=https://spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av031/lae/|title=Spaceflight Now &#124; Atlas Launch Report &#124; AEHF 2 communications satellite keeps on climbing|website=spaceflightnow.com}}</ref>

==== In Earth orbit ====
===== Tiangong space station =====
China's [[Tiangong space station]] is fitted with ion thrusters. Its [[Tianhe core module]] is propelled by both chemical thrusters and four Hall-effect thrusters,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/everything-you-need-to-know-about-chinas-space-station-tianhe-launch|title=Three Decades in the Making, China's Space Station Launches This Week |website=IEEE |date=28 April 2021 |first=Andrew |last=Jones}}</ref> which are used to adjust and maintain the station's orbit. The development of the Hall-effect thrusters is considered a sensitive topic in China, with scientists "working to improve the technology without attracting attention". Hall-effect thrusters are created with crewed mission safety in mind with effort to prevent erosion and damage caused by the accelerated ion particles. A magnetic field and specially designed ceramic shield was created to repel damaging particles and maintain integrity of the thrusters. According to the [[Chinese Academy of Sciences]], the ion drive used on Tiangong has burned continuously for 8,240 hours without a glitch, indicating their suitability for the Chinese space station's designated 15-year lifespan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3135770/how-chinas-space-station-could-help-power-astronauts-mars |title=How China's space station could help power astronauts to Mars |date=2 June 2021 |first=Stephen |last=Chen}}</ref> This is the world's first Hall thruster on a human-rated mission.<ref name="human_ion" />

===== Starlink =====
[[SpaceX]]'s [[Starlink]] [[satellite constellation]] uses [[Hall-effect thruster]]s powered by [[krypton]] or [[argon]] to raise orbit, perform maneuvers, and de-orbit at the end of their use.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/24/spacex-reveals-more-starlink-info-after-launch-of-first-60-satellites/|title=SpaceX reveals more Starlink info after launch of first 60 satellites|date=24 May 2019 |access-date=30 July 2020}}</ref>

===== GOCE =====
[[ESA]]'s [[Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer]] (GOCE) was launched on 16 March 2009. It used ion propulsion throughout its twenty-month mission to combat the air-drag it experienced in its low orbit (altitude of 255 kilometres) before intentionally deorbiting on 11 November 2013.

==== In deep space ====
===== Deep Space 1 =====
[[NASA]] developed the [[NASA Solar Technology Application Readiness|NSTAR]] ion engine for use in interplanetary science missions beginning in the late 1990s. It was space-tested in the space probe ''[[Deep Space 1]]'', launched in 1998. This was the first use of electric propulsion as the interplanetary propulsion system on a science mission.<ref name="Sovey"/> Based on the NASA design criteria, [[HRL Laboratories|Hughes Research Labs]] developed the [[Gridded ion thruster|Xenon Ion Propulsion System]] (XIPS) for performing [[orbital station-keeping|station keeping]] on [[geosynchronous satellite]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Rawlin |first=V. K. |author2=Patterson |first2=M. J/ |author3=Gruber |first3=R. P. |date=1990 |title=Xenon Ion Propulsion for Orbit Transfer |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19910002485/downloads/19910002485.pdf |url-status=live |journal=NASA Technical Memorandum 103193 |issue=AIAA-90-2527 |page=5 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19910002485/downloads/19910002485.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |access-date=25 January 2022}}</ref> [[L3Harris Electron Devices|Hughes (EDD)]] manufactured the NSTAR thruster used on the spacecraft.

===== Hayabusa and Hayabusa2 =====
The [[JAXA|Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency's]] [[Hayabusa (spacecraft)|''Hayabusa'']] space probe was launched in 2003 and rendezvoused with the asteroid [[25143 Itokawa]]. It was powered by four xenon ion engines, which used microwave [[electron cyclotron resonance]] to ionize the propellant and an erosion-resistant carbon/carbon-composite material for its acceleration grid.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ep.isas.ac.jp/muses-c/|title=小惑星探査機はやぶさ搭載イオンエンジン (Ion Engines used on Asteroid Probe Hayabusa)|access-date=2006-10-13|publisher=ISAS |language=ja|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819093452/http://www.ep.isas.ac.jp/muses-c/|archive-date=2006-08-19}}</ref> Although the ion engines on ''Hayabusa'' experienced technical difficulties, in-flight reconfiguration allowed one of the four engines to be repaired and allowed the mission to successfully return to Earth.<ref>{{cite news|first=Hiroko |last=Tabuchi |author-link=Hiroko Tabuchi |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/business/global/02space.html |title=Faulty Space Probe Seen as Test of Japan's Expertise |newspaper=The New York Times |date=1 July 2010}}</ref>

[[Hayabusa2]], launched in 2014, was based on Hayabusa. It also used ion thrusters.<ref>Nishiyama, Kazutaka; Hosoda, Satoshi; Tsukizaki, Ryudo; Kuninaka, Hitoshi. [https://jaxa.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_uri&item_id=15670&file_id=31&file_no=1 Operation Status of Ion Engines of Asteroid Explorer Hayabusa2], [[JAXA]], January 2017.</ref>

===== Smart 1 =====
The [[European Space Agency]]'s satellite ''[[SMART-1]]'' launched in 2003 using a [[Safran Aircraft Engines|Snecma]] [[PPS-1350]]-G Hall thruster to get from [[Geostationary transfer orbit|GTO]] to lunar orbit. This satellite completed its mission on 3 September 2006, in a controlled collision on the [[Moon]]'s surface, after a trajectory deviation so scientists could see the 3-meter crater the impact created on the visible side of the Moon.

===== Dawn =====
[[Dawn (spacecraft)|''Dawn'']] launched on 27 September 2007, to explore the asteroid [[4 Vesta|Vesta]] and the dwarf planet [[Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres]]. It used three ''[[Deep Space 1]]'' heritage xenon ion thrusters (firing one at a time). ''Dawn''{{'s}} ion drive is capable of accelerating from 0 to {{cvt|97|km/h}} in 4 days of continuous firing.<ref>[http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/features.cfm?feature=1468 The Prius of Space] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605015515/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/features.cfm?feature=1468 |date=5 June 2011 }}, 13 September 2007, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory {{PD-notice}}</ref> The mission ended on 1 November 2018, when the spacecraft ran out of [[hydrazine]] chemical propellant for its attitude thrusters.<ref name="DawnEOM">{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-dawn-mission-to-asteroid-belt-comes-to-end|title=NASA's Dawn Mission to Asteroid Belt Comes to End|date=1 November 2018 |publisher=NASA}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

==== LISA Pathfinder ====
[[LISA Pathfinder]] is an [[ESA]] spacecraft launched in 2015 to orbit the Sun-Earth L1 point. It does not use ion thrusters as its primary propulsion system, but uses both [[colloid thruster]]s and [[FEEP]] for precise [[Spacecraft attitude control|attitude control]] – the low thrusts of these propulsion devices make it possible to move the spacecraft incremental distances accurately. It is a test for the [[Laser Interferometer Space Antenna|LISA]] mission. The mission ended on 30 December 2017.

==== BepiColombo ====
[[ESA]]'s [[BepiColombo]] mission was launched to [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]] on 20 October 2018.<ref name="BepiLaunch">{{cite web |url=https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/BepiColombo_s_beginning_ends|title=BepiColombo's beginning ends|date=22 October 2018|access-date=1 November 2018|publisher=ESA}}</ref> It uses ion thrusters in combination with [[gravity assist|swing-bys]] to get to Mercury, where a chemical rocket will complete orbit insertion.

==== Double Asteroid Redirection Test ====
NASA's [[Double Asteroid Redirection Test]] (DART) was launched in 2021 and operated its [[NEXT-C]] xenon ion thruster for about 1,000 hours to reach the target asteroid on 28 September 2022.

==== Psyche ====
NASA's [[Psyche (spacecraft)|Psyche spacecraft]] was launched in 2023 and is operating its [[SPT-140]] xenon ion thruster in order to reach asteroid [[16 Psyche]] in August 2029.